Through our research and inquiry, we know that our different audiences are interacting with and absorbing information about our brand in myriad places. We aim to understand each segment’s behavior and find them where they are, not where traditional biopharma would be. A great example is our sponsorship last summer of the U.S. Open, where we held a booth on-site and partnered with Billie Jean King to celebrate her as a changemaker in sports.
We’ve also shown up at the Consumer Electronics Show, where we sponsored a Digital Health Studio which captured in-depth discussions on what changes are happening as a result of new digital innovations in healthcare technology. At CES, we stood out as one of a few enterprise healthcare companies with a strong presence, and we’re continuing to find ways to “go there” and go where all of our diverse audiences choose to be.
Leverage education to build trust and go a layer deeper
Post-pandemic, we’re seeing a trend of consumers wanting to better understand how medicines are made and care is conducted. People are seeking out more information, wanting and willing to know more about technologies like mRNA, which historically might have felt too “high tech” for the average person. You can see this with the way people are talking about and interacting with ChatGPT and generative AI. Rather than assuming people won’t understand our technology, we instead belabor the words and channels we use to get information to them, like how we use short videos and polls about mRNA on Instagram. This is an opportunity to educate everyone and go a layer deeper than our direct buyers—the healthcare professionals.
While consumers aren’t the primary purchasers of our vaccines, their understanding of mRNA and questions around it does impact and inform what healthcare providers and pharmacists think about it, too. We know this from our internal market research—that healthcare professionals and consumers are generally aligned on the key points about mRNA and interest in being educated on it more. Our latest advertising campaign, “Welcome to the mRNAge,” has been well received by providers and consumers alike and is a launching pad for more on this topic.
Establish strategic alliances with those who share your vision and values
It’s important to align with the changemakers advancing more than just medicine—a future that is more diverse, healthy and globally connected.
I moderated a panel at SXSW this year where I interviewed changemakers who use their platforms for good and, in doing so leverage their brands to solve social issues at scale. We featured Kathryn Finney, the Genius Guild’s Venture Fund managing general partner, and Jacqueline Jones, LinkedIn’s head of strategic partnerships for diversity, inclusion and belonging. This type of panel was a departure from what you might expect from our industry but reflected fierce women who value access, innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset. It was such a stirring conversation, and I’m looking forward to more Moderna-led initiatives like it.